Frogboy

I think the reason more people are starting to leave the tree itself un-mossed is because they subconciously realize that that's the way mother nature does it. Moss is supposed to look like grass. Ask anyone (like me) who has large trees growing in their lawn how well grass grows underneath trees. It doesn't. The trees soak up all the water, and there is a ring of dirt around trees of any size.

The primary exception to this image is trees that are in conditions where the moss we use on bonsai actually represents moss. When conditions are such that grass won't grow, but moss will grow where the grass won't. This occurs in areas of high humidity, but low precipitation, such as near bodies of water. That is also the main reason that rocks in saikei that have no moss growing on them look unfinished. Saikei usually involve a contrast between land and water, so the rocks involved need moss.

Look around you at trees that have stood for decades. If they are not landscaped trees with layers of mulch around them, they will be surrounded by dirt.

Just to drive the point home, try planting grass seed right up to the trunk of a tree in the early spring. The grass springs up rather quickly and looks good for several weeks. However, as the trees break dormancy and put on leaves, they get very thirsty. No matter how much water you provide, the ground cannot absorb past saturation, and every bit of that will be taken in by the tree. The grass will not make it through the summer.

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